Articles

The millions wasted on the Argyle airport should have been invested in our people to give them prosperity and a bright future.

One has to ask PM Gonsalves, how many millions have been wasted on the Argyle airport project? Is it 100 million dollars, 200 million dollars, 300 million dollars or more? Gonsalves should tell the people how much has been wasted at Argyle. How much money has been borrowed from ALBA and various banks?

For all the millions wasted at Argyle have we seen thousands of new jobs created, have we seen economic growth, have we seen a decrease in poverty and crime. No, no and no! Let's not mince words here: we have a strip of mud at Argyle and nothing more, and it has cost our country millions. The Argyle airport should be cancelled now.

The ULP regime need to understand that tv adverts cannot make the Argyle airport runway longer. They can show 5 adverts a day, 10 adverts a day, even 50 adverts a day, but the Argyle airport runway will still be too short.

The more we see Argyle adverts on tv, the more we know that the ULP regime do not know what they are doing. Do the ULP regime think that the International Civil Aviation Organization hand out aviation licences to airports with dangerously short runways and dangerous, unpredictable crosswinds based on tv adverts?

There is a very dangerous inherent tailwind / crosswind problem at Argyle. No amount of adverts can change this. The tailwind / crosswind problem is a serious and major flight safety hazard which could make it doubtful that the Argyle airport will be useable for much of the time.

The lack of an instrument approach runway is also a major flight safety hazard. The EIA report warned the ULP regime that the width of Argyle airport runway is far from wide enough for an instrument approach runway, which is needed for landing in bad weather conditions.

It would be foolhardy and reckless to carry on with Argyle airport now, knowing that it will be unused and torn up in the future. The Argyle airport project is now history. Argyle airport has been in the planning since 2005 and many millions have been wasted. It is sad to think what could have been achieved in the previous 8 years with say 300 million dollars properly invested.

By now we could have had thousands of new jobs, our own university, a more vibrant agriculture sector, lower taxes and a real education revolution, with education free from preschool to university. SVG could have been well on the way to having much of our electricity produced by renewable energy too.

Argyle airport has been a colossal mistake. It is time to go Green and stop throwing money away on Argyle airport. At present, our country is on a runway to ruin and change is desperately needed. We need to unlock our nation's full potential and create new jobs and new revenue.